Oh You Don't Know the Shape I'm In

I work retail so P going on another road trip Thanksgiving week was not a particular concern to me at the time.  That is until the actual day came.  That morning I thought I was surely the loneliest soul on the planet. And I have this weird pension for building on the theme.  I don't like being sad but at least it's familiar.  I kindled the fire by playing Sinatra on loop early and officially set the day to sludge.  I kept the room dark and tried to list all the things I was grateful for but instead considered all my failings until I successfully reached a melancholy coma.

I worked the night before and had our staff cafeteria version of Thanksgiving dinner.  It was interesting.  All the soul was beaten out of those potatoes long before along with everything else on that plate. The Lingonberry sauce was a great Swedish twist and to be honest overall, it was really cool they took the time to do this as they do every year.  Management even serves the plates with their best version of put on holiday cheer.  For some of us, this would be the only Thanksgiving dinner.

Thank goodness for a bud and a good idea to see Martin Scorsese's The Last Waltz playing loud at a local theater.  And as a very special bonus it included Thanksgiving dinner.  The concert was recorded on Thanksgiving day 11/25, 1976, one of my favorite years.  How special to watch it on the big screen. And the food was actually really good complete with a slice of pecan pie at the end.  No pictures unfortunately as there is a strict no cell phone policy.  In fact we had to eat the entire meal in the dark, just looking at shadows and relying on your taste buds to identify the flavors. Roasted carrots, turkey with gravy, mashed potatoes, a very interesting stuffing and cranberry sauce with a big biscuit.  Just enough to be very full and leave a little on the plate.

If I had to be without traditional family at least it was comforting to have Dylan, Van Morrison and Young live in 35MM film and not to mention my real bud to share the holiday.